Manickarasah Nagendra

Manickarasah Nagendra was born in the city of Jaffna, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), the son of a town overseer. He was educated at St Anne’s College, Kurunegala, and St John’s College, Jaffna, where he was an outstanding student and athlete. He went on to Colombo Medical School in 1956. Graduating in 1962, he served his internship at the General Hospital, Colombo. He was thereafter appointed district medical officer in Udugama and at the district hospital of Haputale, and then served his compulsory public health component in the Galle district as medical officer of health.

In 1973 he went to the UK for higher studies where he mainly worked at Bedford General Hospital. He returned to Sri Lanka and served as a resident physician at Colombo General Hospital for a short period, moving on to the Base Hospital, Panadura, where he worked as a consultant physician for two years. He then went on to the Provincial Hospital, Ratnapura, for four years. In 1982 he returned to the General Hospital, Colombo, working as a visiting physician in the out-patient’s department of the hospital.

During his term of office at the General Hospital, Colombo, he went on sabbatical leave to King Fahd Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for two years. On his return he was posted as a physician in the out-patient’s department and thereafter as consultant physician to the Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama. He assumed his final posting in1992 as a consultant physician at the General Hospital, Colombo, the premier institution in Sri Lanka.

He won an elocution medal at school, was a champion athlete and a good speaker. He was a fine teacher of medical students and postgraduates, a man of ready wit and a good party man.

He married Shanta and they had two daughters. He died after a long and a brave struggle with cancer. It was part of his character to teach and treat his patients until about a month before he died.